Lean On Me *Weekend Open Thread*

What a week it has been, hasn’t it? Before I move into the heart of the Weekend post, I want to lift up the four Marines who were assassinated on Thursday now that we know their names. The Fallen are:

One was a 19-year-old from Georgia, who served as a lance corporal artillery cannoneer. Another was a 40-year-old from Massachusetts, who survived two tours in Iraq and earned a Purple Heart. (Marine with Ribbon image created by KK.)

A day after a gunman opened fire on military personnel in Chattanooga, Tenn. — killing four Marines — profiles of the men who served their country only to die on its soil began to emerge.

Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, from Springfield, Mass. and a Marine since 1997, was one of those killed Thursday by Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, a Kuwaiti-born Chattanooga resident who opened fire on two military facilities in Chattanooga before being shot dead by police near the scene.

The three other Marines killed were identified Friday as Lance Cpl. Skip “Squire” Wells, of Marietta, Ga., Sgt. Carson Holmquist, of Grantsburg Wisc., and Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, of Chattanooga. […] (Click here to read the rest.)

Again, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families and companies of these Marines. May they know that they can lean on us for support and comfort during this difficult time.

And now, though with a heavy heart, I turn to more uplifting stories for this weekend. The first is the story of a Utah Firefighter who not just told this frightened, lost dog, that he could lean on him. No, rather this firefighter CARRIED the dog for two miles. Here is his story (if you prefer to read it, you can do so HERE):

Oh, my – living in a state where fireworks are legal, and people go crazy on the Fourth, I can appreciate how scared this poor dog was when kids started shooting them off. So wonderful that she was found, though hurt a little bit.

And yes, Rue looks like America’s Dog, Jasper. She is a Vizla, after all. And the firefighter, Tony Stowe, is truly a hero to this beautiful dog, and to her thankful owner, Jessica Long. Whew, what a good outcome!

Which leads me to another good outcome. Sharks have been in the news quite a bit of late given the shark attacks occurring at beaches. While this shark was also at a beach, he was actually ON a beach. Unfortunately so, according to this HuffPost story:

[…] Witnesses told the station that the young shark beached itself chasing after a seagull.

Great white sharks are listed as “vulnerable” (one step better than endangered) by the World Wildlife Fund because humans hunt them for food and sport.

I know, this doesn’t sound like such a “good news” story yet, but it does, as this video highlights:

The shark did survive this ordeal, thanks in no small part to the efforts of those on the shore to keep it wet. Now, I realize not everyone might think this is a good thing, but sharks are an important part of the ecosystem, after all, and it is just hard to see one suffer the way this poor juvenile was. I bet he learned his lesson about getting to close to the shore, don’t you?

Finally, to bring it back full circle to the Marines, IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) highlighted this incredible story on Facebook from Military.com:

Cpl. Gaertner (left) and Sgt. Martinez

The fist bump was their thing in Afghanistan, where both Marines lost legs in the same attack, and the fist bump is still their thing in the hunt for child predators under a special law enforcement program to train and hire medically retired veterans.

Cpl. Justin Gaertner and Sgt. Gabriel Martinez in their dress blues bumped fists at an event earlier this year in Florida, just as they bumped fists while recovering from their wounds.

Gaertner, 26, of Tampa, Fla., has been partnered for the last two years with retired Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Nathan Cruz, 42, executing the computer forensics to track down sex traffickers in the ICE/HERO program.

Working out of the Tampa, Fla., Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, Gaertner and Cruz use their newly-acquired computer skills to determine probable cause and go on raids to seize evidence hidden in computer hard drives, software programs and cell phones, much of it involving disturbing images of young children.

Martinez has just committed to training for the same job that falls under the Department of Homeland Security’s mandate in a program that began two years ago. […] (Click here to read the rest.)

How cool that these two Marines are serving on this level, still hunting down the bad guys? There is much more to their stories as you can read at the Military.com article. That they are willing and able to keep going despite what happened to them speaks to their strength of character, sense of duty, and their honor, especially as they work to protect children from predators. My hat goes off to them for all they have done for this country, all they have sacrificed, and for the very good work they continue to do. They are heroes for what they have done, and for what they do.

To all of the Proud and Few those who have gone before, those whose lives were lost too soon in Chattanooga and in theater, those who serve, and all those who have put on the uniform, this is for you:

Can you imagine the media frenzy if a Republican president show such a lack of compassion. And as CiC such a lack of appropriate behavior. Wonder what the military thinks of their CiC. I know what I think.

Absolutely perfect cartoon. That is precisely what has happened with Obama.

And you better believe people would be apopletic if a Rep. had shown such callous disregard for assassinated military members, not to mention the whole Ramadan message shortly after a Muslim gunned down these Marines and Sailor.

Obama’s behavior is just appalling, but his minions still support him all the way. Says so much abt all of them…

YES!! Exactly!! Then there was the golfing after the beheading, and on it goes with him. His behavior is just mind boggling, isn’t it? How can a normal person react like this?? Oh, wait. I think I just answered my own question…

Yeah, these kinds of comments are absolutely uncalled for by ANYONE, much less someone who claims to be from the same party. If you cannot persuade people with your policies and positions, that is on you – to resort to this kind of childish attack is disgusting.

Up until now in spite of what the pundidiots said I thought he was good for the race by stirring things up and saying things PC Politicians don’t seem to dare. Now I think he’s done himself in with his own big mouth.

Yes, he has overstepped his bounds in a big way. So yeah, I agree. He may have injected some energy and much needed comments abt how people really feel, but when he started with the ad hominems, he proved those right who called him a “loud mouth,” and worse…

Thanks for this Rev. Although Trump still stumbled it wasn’t nearly as bad as the Washington Post would have everyone believe. By now I doubt that the truth will ever get into the public brain. I should have known better. Mea Culpa for believing anything that comes from a liberal rag like WaPo.

That said, a close friend of mine is the mother of a soldier, and she is NOT happy with the way he characterized McCain’s service. She said her response is from the video of Trump saying it, and she is furious that someone who has never served has the audacity to make ANY kind of statement abt someone who has sacrificed as much as McCain has

And it isn’t that she is a big fan of McCain’s – no, not at all. But to downplay or question his service, and what he went through, is completely unacceptable. As she noted, Hillary did the same thing. Yep, she’s right – Hillary did. ALL of the Dems did (USS Forrestal).

When a man showed up in Virginia to protect a Military Facility in his town the media immediately determined that he was a “vigilante”. A term with negative connotations. It will be harder to do that with these deputies in Ohio. What both the lone man and the deputies show is that the government isn’t doing it’s duty of protecting it’s citizens. In and out of uniform. Media, that is SO anti government when a Republican is in the White House reacts quite differently when a POS Dem administration is in charge. They can’t seem to help themselves. Bias is simply in their DNA. Which make those of us who believe an honest and neutral media is necessary in a free country wish these lying, dishonest people would find another line of work. They’ve already had so much practice being Democrat activists that would be a good place to start.

Sheriff deputies in Wayne County, Ohio, are standing guard at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Wooster to protect it from a possible terrorist attack. The deputies, guarding the center in their uniforms, are volunteering their time.

Captain Doug Hunter informed citizens about their efforts on the Wayne County Sheriff’s Facebook page. “We have been hearing about the possibility of ‘lone wolf’ attacks for the past few months and the massacre of five servicemen in Chattanooga Tennessee is an example of such attacks,” he wrote. “We suspect there will be more.”

Hunter said that criminals and radicals such as Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, who attacked the military recruiting center in Chattanooga last week, are not deterred by gun free zones. Often, they are only stopped by deadly force. He lamented the fact that military policy prohibits most soldiers from protecting themselves on U.S. soil.

“We are happy to report that in Wayne County such radicals not only must consider encountering armed law enforcement, but armed citizens as well,” Hunter wrote.

You are so right abt the difference between a GOP Prez and a Dem Prez when it comes to government. A dear friend had this up on Facebook the other day, and I think it sums it up PERFECTLY:

No kidding.

In any event, GOOD for these off-duty deputies to do what the government refuses to do. SOMEONE has to protect these folks, and it is clear they are not allowed to do it themselves, nor will the Gov’t do it for them.

Isn’t it? I remember when I was at Union, one of my favorite doctoral students (now a highly respected author and academician in South Korea – her home country) routinely wore a “Question Authority” t-shirt. That was a rallying cry for us back then. Now, it is all abt having the Gov’t take care of every little thing for us, turning us into nothing but babies. It is ridiculous…

Once again the racists show us their true colors. And they are not colorblind. They are dishonest bigots of the worst sort. They playing of victimhood is both dishonest and tiresome. O’Malley and other Dems pandering to these cretins is disgusting.

Several dozen demonstrators interrupted the former Maryland governor while he was speaking here at the Netroots Nation conference, a gathering of liberal activists, demanding that he address criminal justice and police brutality. When they shouted, “Black lives matter!” a rallying cry of protests that broke out after several black Americans were killed at the hands of police in recent months, O’Malley responded: “Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter.”

I still maintain that when some black mob, revved up by the racist left, attacks whites I doubt they will stop to ask if the person is Democrat of Republican. If all you care about is skin color what difference, ala Hillary, does it make?

Precisely, Marge – they are not going to check one’s voter registration card. And this sense that black mobs can do no wrong is, well, WRONG. People are responsible for their actions regardless of skin color, and to act as if one person’s life is more important than another based on nothing more than race is wrong…

Trump may have been taken out of context in some accounts of his remarks but this is Stephen Hayes account, in part, of what Trump said to him.

Like so much of what is “reported” in this country, right or wrong, truth or lies, once it has become the “common wisdom” it is nearly impossible to change. That’s where these “shoot from the lip” types run into trouble.

We may dislike the way so many of the candidates speak carefully but must acknowledge that they have good reason to do so. They know that one slip and the lefty media will seek to bury them under a pile of lies and bullshit.

Trump GOP Candidacy Blows Up

Refuses to Rule Out Third Party Bid

Donald Trump confirmed two things during a stop in this central Iowa town Saturday: He has no class and he may well run as an independent when he does not win the Republican nomination.

I asked Trump if he was blaming John McCain for his capture, as his comments implied. “I am saying John McCain has not done a good job,” Trump responded, dodging the question.

When I repeated the question, Trump said: “I am not blaming John McCain for his capture. If he gets captured, he gets captured.”

“Why would you say you like people who don’t get captured?”

Trump: “The people that don’t get captured I’m not supposed to like? I like the people who don’t get captured and I respect the people who do get captured.”

Why would you say that in the context of John McCain: “Excuse me, excuse me. I like the people that don’t get – you have many people that didn’t get captured. I respect them greatly. You’ve got people that got captured. I respect them greatly also. Why – I’m not supposed to respect the people that don’t get captured?

Are you suggesting that John McCain did something to lead to his capture?

Trump: “Of course not.”

Why would you say what you said?

At that point, Trump turned and answered a question about China.

Later, I asked Trump if he would apologize to McCain. “No, not at all.”

And after that, I asked Trump if he had ever read any accounts of McCain’s time in captivity before he suggested McCain is not a war hero.

“It’s irrelevant.”

Later in his appearance here, Trump was asked directly by an audience member whether he would rule out running as a third party candidate for president. “No, no,” Trump said. “I won’t go on record as saying that.”

It’s a comment that should surprise nobody, since Trump first flirted with politics as a potential candidate for the Reform Party’s nomination in 1999. Despite his announcement, Trump is not a candidate so much as a carnival barker on an extended ego ride. And if he runs as a third party candidate, he could well deliver the White House to Hillary Clinton – a past recipient of Trump praise and campaign contributions.

President Obama’s press conference on his Iran “deal” this week is a case study in just how far journalism has fallen as a profession. The big stories to come out of the alleged most powerful man on the planet speaking for more than an hour had nothing to do with the United States effectively blessing a nuclear Iran. No, the big stories were Bill Cosby and the fact the president finally was asked a direct, difficult question.

The media elite quickly formed a protective circle around the president when CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett asked why the fate of four Americans held in Iran was not included as part of a deal in which Iran, by all accounts, demanded and got everything including the kitchen sink. The president became insolent, like a spoiled child hearing the word “no” for the first time, and the Royal Court of Journalists rallied to his aid.

Laments of the disrespectful nature of the question and outrage it was asked in the East Room drown out the fact the president had no good answer, that he had left those people out to dry for the sake of vanity.

And Bill Cosby? The president has agreed to lift the ban on conventional weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology to the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism and evil in the world, and one of the few people allowed to ask him about it personally chooses to ask about what an aging sitcom star may or may not have done a generation ago?

What a SPOT ON, great piece this is! He is so, so right abt the protective barrier the Media “elite” have crafted around Obama to protect him from those few journalists who actually ask a real question. I mean, really – how DARE Garrett ask a real question abt the Iran deal?! The NERVE of that man! Ahem/